Matthijs de Ligt believes Ajax are capable of achieving something special in the Champions League this season after dumping holders Real Madrid out of the competition in the last-16.
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Trailing 2-1 after last month’s first leg in Amsterdam, Erik ten Hag’s side produced an outstanding performance at Santiago Bernabeu to stun the 13-time European champions 4-1 and end their three-year grip on the trophy.
Hakim Ziyech and David Neres put the Dutch side ahead on aggregate inside 20 minutes before former Southampton forward Dusan Tadic made it 3-0 on the night after the break.
Marco Asensio pulled one back for Real but Lasse Schone soon restored Ajax’s advantage and put the shine a memorable victory.
It was a thrilling display that brought back memories of the famous Ajax sides of the early 1970s, when they won three successive European Cups.
With six of their starting side aged 22 or under it also drew comparisons with the young team that won the trophy for a fourth time in 1995, featuring the likes of Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf and Patrick Kluivert.
De Ligt is one of those talented youngsters, with his impressive performances this season resulting in him being linked with the likes of Barcelona, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid.
The 19-year-old believes his side deserved their victory and were richly rewarded for sticking to their footballing principles.
“Obviously, winning here is unbelievable,” he told De Telegraaf. “Real gives away space and they are not used to this. We wanted to play attacking football, we discussed that beforehand.
"We have shown that we can do something. What was missing was the scoring more in Amsterdam. We fought for each other and were perhaps at our best. Otherwise, you will not win here."
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Though they reached the Europa League final three years ago, this was Ajax’s first knockout tie in the Champions League for 13 years. The victory means they are through to the quarter-finals for the first time since 2003.
But far from being satisfied with that, De Ligt believes their run in the competition can carry on for a little while yet.
"This [Real] is the title holder,” he added. “We have already made Bayern difficult and Real has now been eliminated. We are not finished yet, I think. "
